


Amidst the broken glass / In a hail of bullets

by Anonymous



Category: Luke Cage (TV)
Genre: Car Sex, F/M, Light Dom/sub, One-Sided Attraction, Past Abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-11-07
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:52:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,019
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8244952
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: It wasn't until I finished writing and was tweaking things here and there that I realized I had COMPLETELY forgotten that Shades and Mariah have known each other since way back when. This works a lot better if everyone disregards that lol sorry but I bingewatched Luke Cage in a single day, I was bound to forget some stuff.By the way, these will not have continuation. Each chapter will be a stand-alone story.





	1. Brown Skin Girl

**Author's Note:**

> It wasn't until I finished writing and was tweaking things here and there that I realized I had COMPLETELY forgotten that Shades and Mariah have known each other since way back when. This works a lot better if everyone disregards that lol sorry but I bingewatched Luke Cage in a single day, I was bound to forget some stuff.
> 
> By the way, these will not have continuation. Each chapter will be a stand-alone story.

 

"Can I see you for a second?" Shades interrupts the boring conversation Mariah was having with two unhappy bouncers. As far as she was concerned, they were complaining for the sake of complaining, yet she wanted to keep everyone happy. Actually, that's a lie, she just can't cut them loose tonight, it's too short notice.

"Man, really? Do you not see us talking?" One of them says to him. Mariah had obviously hired them for the brawn, not so much for the brains. That much was clear.

"You were just leaving," Shades says to both of them, she can see his jaw clench. He's threatening without having to do much and it's in that moment she wishes there were more like him so she could rid herself of these two problems. He watches them retreat, then turns his attention back to her, his expression is softer now. "Let's go to your office. I have something for you."

Mariah raises an eyebrow; he snorts. "Interesting," she says and heads towards the stairs that lead to her office with him following just a few paces behind her.

A band is doing soundcheck in the lounge below and the music bleeds into Mariah's office. They're hosting a "locals only" event and unknown bands and singers from Harlem can have their time in the spotlight for a few minutes tonight. It's another way for her to give back to the community she loves so much. It also doesn't hurt that it's much needed good publicity.

She walks in ahead of him and perches herself on her desk, watching him close the door behind him. It's only then that she notices he's holding something. Mariah doesn't know how she could have missed something as obvious as the shiny wooden box tucked under his arm, but she's finding that when she's around him, things like that just seem happen.

When he stands in front of her, she gestures at the box. "Is that it?"

"Yes," he says and places it next to her. When she doesn't even begin to move towards it, he continues. "You gonna open it?"

"That depends. Is it something that's gonna jump out at me?"

"You won't find out unless you open it," Shades says and smiles which makes Mariah's scoff. There's always an air of mystery and danger swirling around him, which shouldn't, but it entices her.

She stands up and runs her fingers over the box's surface. She's always been a very tactile person, and Shades can attest to that. Her fingers find the gold latch at the front and she flips it open. The inside is lined with navy colored velvet and set deep in the middle is a gun, gold with the same mother of pearl handle like the gun that used to belong to Cornell. The question of "Another one?" rattles around in her head, but she doesn't voice it.

It's heavy in her hands and she takes aim at the new painting she had just a few days prior hung behind her desk. She lines it up to one of the small red squares and in her mind, she fires once and hits her target dead center. In reality, she knows her aim isn't perfect, but that doesn't matter because she knows that Shades is there, ready, willing, and eager to teach her anything and everything.

He stands behind her and his hands, large and warm, find her hips, softly latching on. "There's danger around every corner," he whispers in her ear and shivers slowly run up and down her spine. "More than anything, I want you to be safe."

Mariah sets the gun back down and closes the box with a soft thud, when his phone rings. She feels him tense and she knows he's annoyed. Shades checks it quickly and she knows he has to leave.

When she turns around to look at him, he sighs ever so softly. He looks her deep into her eyes, then scans the rest of her face; his gaze lingers on her lips. "Y'know, a while ago I heard this song on the radio. 'Brown skin girl, let me hold you close under the white moon. Cause baby, I'm ready and you know that I'm waiting on you.' I don't remember anything else but that, and I didn't give it much thought after. When I first saw you that morning, when we first met, somehow I thought of it immediately."

She tries not to show how amused she is by this unusual behavior. With him, this is probably as close as he gets to being almost normal. Mariah just smirks and narrows her eyes. "Who would have thought that a cold blooded killer could be quite this hokey?"

The words themselves may not be the kindest, but he knows there's no real malice behind them. His phone rings again and she kisses him deeply before he leaves. Mariah watches him walk out of the office, then through the large round window, until he's out of sight. She finds her phone at the bottom of one of her desk drawers and really, the artist and song isn't hard to find.

As the video buffers, she takes the time to pour herself a drink. Out of the speaker, a soft blues song plays and she sits down to listen comfortably. 

_Brown skin girl on the other side of the room  
_ _Brown skin girl staring with her brown eyes  
_ _Ooh, baby, don't you know you're a cutie pie?_

Mariah laughs, almost spilling her drink on her lap. It's a nice enough song, that's for sure. She could see herself looking up the singer to extend an invitation to play at Harlem's Paradise, but for the life of her, she can't picture Shades listening to something like this. More often than not, he comes off as cold, even a little sadistic. Until today, she wasn't even sure he enjoyed music, really. She continues listening, her drink warming her tongue. 

_Brown skin girl with the white pearls 'round her neck  
__Brown skin girl, let me hold you close under the white moon  
__Cause baby, I'm ready and you know that I'm waiting on you_  

Her amusement is gone and is instead replaced with something different. She feels a warmth in her chest and it's not the drink making her feel this way. Right now, even sitting there alone, she feels wanted. Not in the way that countless men have wanted her. They were all about them and their needs, their flowery words were just a means to an end. An end that always left her unsatisfied in more ways than one. Mariah could never make it work with anyone and she often wondered if her experiences early in life had indeed broken her beyond repair. She thought herself incapable of having those pretty feelings young girls felt, until today. Today, in this moment, she's back to a time before everything turned upside down.

Mariah knows there are things that need to be done around the club, but to hell with it. And really, who can blame her for pressing play once again?


	2. In the depths of it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleep never comes easy for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has references to past abuse.

The nightmares she has each night no longer bother her in the same was as they used to. They're always nightmares about her uncle and what he did to her. It's usually replays of what happened; sometimes it's worse, sometimes it's just them in the same vicinity which bothers her nonetheless. She will suddenly wake up out of a deep sleep and it takes a minute to gain her composure and it makes her angry. Back when she was younger, she'd wake up crying and wishing that she had someone there to comfort her, to give her some encouraging words. Now, it enrages her that he still has this much power over her even from six feet underground. But more than anything else, it makes her mad that she hasn't gotten over it even decades after it happened. Mariah has been able to fix so many things about herself but this remains the one thing that she simply can't get out of her head.

After becoming closer to Shades, she'll usually call him up just to hear his voice. They talk about anything she can think of, anything to keep him on the line for a little longer. That's the best part of being involved in politics: if she needs to, Mariah can talk for hours with ease. Shades is never bothered by her late night or early morning calls, even when he clearly sounds groggy on the other end. He even begins to open up to her eventually, telling her things about his family and where he comes from, which surprises her. He's a hard man to get to know on a deeper level; what you see on the surface is what you get. Nothing more, nothing less.

The first night it happens, a thunderstorm is rolling through, hard and fast. The thunder practically makes her windows shake, but Mariah manages to fall asleep anyway. For the first time in longer than she can remember, she has a nightmare different than the rest. At Harlem's Paradise, everyone is dead on the ground, except for her. She's semi disoriented and her ears ring like when there's been guns fired nearby. Her clothes are sticking to her body, so thoroughly saturated with blood that they feel heavy, though none of the blood belongs to her. The scent of iron hangs thickly in the air, it's so overwhelming that Mariah retches.

She hears a quiet groan, it almost sounds like her name. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and when she looks behind her, she sees Shades sitting on the floor with his back against the bar. It hits her all at once and she feels as if the air has been pulled out from her lungs. She crawls over bodies with no regard for them because right then, they don't matter to her in the least. Her concern is for the only man she had ever formed a strong relationship with, and as she comes to his side, she sees he's in terrible shape. He's been shot several times and his skin is ashen, he can just barely keep his eyes open.

"Are you okay?" He's nearly dead and the first thing out of his mouth is to ask about her well being.

"I'm fine," Mariah says and she can't stop the sob that escapes her. They know that the threat of something like this happening is high, though seeing it with her own eyes is different than just imagining it. Nothing could ever have prepared her.

"I think this is it," he tells her and closes his eyes for the last time.

Mariah scrambles to hold him close to her and she cries. She tries to shake him awake but there's nothing she can do. She screams at the top of her lungs and that's when she wakes up. Mariah finds that her face is wet and she can't catch her breath. She looks around and she's no longer in Harlem's Paradise, she's in her own bed at home and the storm still hasn't let up. Mariah turns on a lamp and takes a moment to put herself together, taking deep, slow breaths. The clock reads 3:10 A.M. and she does what comes naturally to her at this point: she picks up the phone. The line trills five times before he picks up.

"Hello?" Shades says, voice thick with sleep.

Mariah greets him and goes into a spiel about things that need to be done at the club, people he needs to see, people she needs to have meetings with. Usually, he listens diligently but tonight he finally asks her the question that would lead to the subject she had hoped he would never bring up.

"Do you ever get any sleep?"

"I do," she admits, "it's just that sometimes sleep just doesn't come."

"That happen a lot?"

She's quiet, she doesn't know what to say. Her mouth opens a few times to speak but she can't find the words to explain everything without sounding like a child.

"Mariah?"

"Yeah," she clears her throat. "Are you busy by any chance? Can you come to the house?"

"Never too busy for you," Shades tells her. "I'll be there in fifteen."

Mariah flies out of bed and waits for him downstairs. She can't shake off the uneasy feeling that clings to her like static. The fifteen minutes feel like an hour of her waiting by the front door. She keeps glancing at the clock on the mantel wondering what's taking him so long and her mind wanders. After all, the roads are slick and visibility is likely low. Mariah shakes her head and begins pacing.

The doorbell rings and she throws the door open. She feels like she can finally breathe and Mariah can't stop (or maybe doesn't want to stop) from throwing her arms around him, she doesn't even care that he's soaking wet from the rain. Shades is taken aback, but hugs her close. He asks her if something had happened to her and it all comes rushing out and she can't stop it. Before she knows it, Mariah has gone back to the beginning and she tells him _everything_. Now that Mama Mabel, Cornell, and her uncle are dead, she's the only one that knows what happened so many years ago. She could never allow anyone to hold that over her head so she's kept that secret under lock and key. Shades listens like he always does. He lets her get it out and when she mentions her nightmare from this night, he wants to hug her once more. Instead, he takes her right hand in both of his and brings it up to his lips, brushing them lightly over her knuckles. "You desperately need sleep. I'm here, in the flesh. See?" Shades brings her hand to his chest and she feels his rapid heartbeat beneath her palm. "C'mon," he says and leads her back upstairs.

She climbs back into bed and when he turns to leave, Mariah stops him. "It's late. Weather's shit," she says with a shrug.

Shades wanted to stay more than anything, but didn't want to overstep any boundaries, so he figured it would be best to leave. However, things are different now that she's given him the green light. Mariah watches him undo the buttons of his black shirt, then he sets it on the back of a nearby chair. Shades rids himself of the rest of his clothes, though he leaves on his boxer briefs. The sight of him before her is almost breathtaking. He's got more tattoos and scars than she could have imagined and she wonders if he'd ever tell her about them.

He climbs in and Mariah leans over to turn her beside lamp off and she turns on her side, her back towards him. She almost curls into herself to shield herself from him. Now that he's lying there next to her, she feels foolish and over dramatic. What grown woman has someone come over because they had a bad dream? The embarrassment coursing through her makes her wish she could disappear.

As if sensing her emotions, Shades comes closer to her and presses himself to her back, pulling her closer to him. The strong arm around her makes her feel safe from everything around them. Right now, the only thing she's aware of is Shades and nothing else. She can't remember the last time she had a good night's sleep until tonight. Tonight, she dreams of nothing.


	3. when we were young

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a rewind back to the 90's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it tacky to do two updates in one day?

The summer heat is utterly unforgiving this year, especially during high noon. As luck would have it, Mariah comes home from college to visit Mama Mabel when her A/C is currently in the process of being repaired. To top it off, Mabel is preparing a big dinner in Mariah's honor, which makes the temperature in the house rise to rather uncomfortable levels.

"Go get Cornell for me, baby," she says then blows on a large wooden spoon before she tastes the soup she's cooking.

Mariah quickly rummages in the freezer then hurries outside. It's considerably cooler than it is inside and Mariah sighs, tossing her long braids over her shoulder. Cornell is standing by the front steps with a group of guys that she doesn't recognize.

"Nell," Mariah knows that's one of the nicknames he hates, so she uses it even more to annoy him. It's that childish part of her that refuses to die. "Mama wants you. She's in the kitchen."

The group disperses quickly at the sound of Mama's name and Cornell goes up the steps, giving her a light shove with his shoulder before he goes inside. Mariah laughs and sits on the stoop to enjoy her rapidly melting bomb pop. She sighs and reclines back, propping herself up on an elbow on the step behind her. She has never paid any attention to Cornell's little friends or the people he hangs out with, why should she?

She takes a bite of the pop and it's only then that she feels a pair of eyes on her. As it turns out, not everyone in that group had run for the hills. Hernan was 17 going on 18 that summer and finally coming into his looks. He'd been an awkward kid and shoved around by kids bigger than him until he learned how to stand up for himself. He may not have the bulging muscles that other guys may have, but he had what would be considered "freakish strength" for someone of his build.

Mariah was wearing denim shorts, a tight, short sleeve white baby tee that shows a sliver of skin just above her shorts every time she moves. Hernan's eyes were practically glued onto her.

She raises an eyebrow and tips her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose to look him in the eye. "Can I help you?"

"You looking good, _mami_ ," he says with a smirk, looking her up and down.

Mariah cackles, "Boy, don't you have pee-wee football to get to?"

He shakes his head, kicking himself for not having a good enough comeback for that. Instead he just says, "You don't remember me, do you?"

"Why would I?" She says, not even bothering to look at him and she continues eating her pop.

"We met at that New Year's party Mama threw a couple of years ago."

Mariah finally looks at him, really looks at him, and her face splits into a grin. "Yeah, I do remember you!" Hernan feels on top of the world, he even stands a little taller. However, she continues, "Hernan, with that pathetic-ass mustache!" She cackles and "deflated" doesn't even begin to describe him right now. "We all got so much mileage out of that one. Even Mama got into it, oh my God, she had this crack about Moses himself parting that mustache. That one had me rolling."

Just then, Kia from down the street runs up to her, excited to see Mariah. She pulls her into a tight hug and Mariah dusts herself off when she stands. She seems to have forgotten that Hernan is even there, which is a blessing in disguise.

Before she leaves, Mariah hands him what's left of her bomb pop and says, "Good choice, getting rid of it," gesturing at his face. She genuinely smiles and he smiles back. As far as he was concerned, she could crack all the jokes she wanted, just as long as she smiled at him like that afterwards.

He watches her as she makes her way down the street, arm in arm with her friend. Her hips sway from side to side as she walks and she is truly, honestly _it_ for him. In his eyes, Mariah is the pinnacle of beauty and womanhood.

Hernan is deep in his thoughts that he doesn't hear Cornell come out from the house. He hits him upside the head and he drops the pop from fright.

"Stop looking at her," he warns him.

"Man, you think I have a chance with your cousin?" Hernan asks his friend without taking his eyes off Mariah.

Cornell's eyes narrow and he shakes his head. "Mama will kill you. And I mean, literally kill you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nah, what IS tacky is to beg for comments. Which I am doing. Right now. We, as fic writers, do this because we love it but any writer that says they don't also love seeing "Inbox (1)" is lying to themselves. Anyway, leave me a comment! It's free!


	4. Partition

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Driver roll up the partition please....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not used to writing smut, so I hope this isn't too bad! I was inspired by the Queen herself, Beyoncé. This little collage was made using fotor.com, it's super easy to use that even someone like me could do it!

 

The invitation for a charity event had been personally delivered to Mariah at Harlem's Paradise and she'd been looking forward to it for weeks. She saw it as a way for her life to regain some of its previous normality, and as always, her being involved with a charity is good for her image. In fact, Mariah went out and bought herself and her 'plus one', Shades, new clothes just for the occasion. The night is young and before climbing in, Mariah instructs the driver to take the scenic route, it's not as if they're waiting for her to make an appearance. Normally, her mind is sorting through the things she needs to do the next morning. Running the club is harder than she expected it would be. Thousands of little things were always being brought to her attention and needed her input no matter how much she had told her employees that if they could handle it, they should. Her mind is a constantly moving rolodex, never giving her a break, no matter how tired she is.

The weight of her responsibilities and the stress never reaches a breaking point because _he's_ always there to ground her. Shades' presence is a source of comfort, as is the almost protective hand that's resting just above her knee. The weight and warmth of it makes her break out in goosebumps and there's nothing she wants more right now than to slowly inch it further north until it disappears underneath the slit in her dress. Instead, she squirms a little and her thigh tenses under his touch and he glances at her. He knows.

"Y'okay?" He says with a smirk on his face.

"I'd be better if you would just...." She trails off while grasping his hand with both of hers and sliding it up her thigh, up to the lace hem of her stockings. Shades can feel the strap of a garter belt and he just about loses it. He loves seeing her in her lacy lingerie and gets off on the fact that he's the only one that gets to see her in it.

"Right now?" He says and it comes out more breathy than he thought it would. Mariah's pressed against him, she's practically in his lap. Her lush lips are so close, it wouldn't take much to close the gap between them. Shades turns towards the driver and he sees his eyes in the rear view mirror for a split second before the driver turns his attention back on the road.

"Don't worry," she smiles, "this isn't a free show," Mariah says and drives up the partition to block out any and all prying eyes. She slowly takes his glasses off while his hand softly kneads her exposed thigh. She slumps down a little in her seat and spreads her legs to give him more access as she then guides his hand to the promised land. Shades lets out a shaky breath when he feels that Mariah isn't wearing anything beneath her dress except for the garter belt and stockings. She's already so wet that his fingers slide between her lips with ease.

"We shouldn't," he tells her but doesn't stop his fingers from gently teasing her. "We'll be there soon," Shades whispers against her neck and Mariah turns into putty in his hands when he places a kiss below her earlobe.

"Well, then we better hurry." Mariah hikes her dress up to comfortably straddle him and watches intently when he brings his fingers up to his mouth to lick them clean. Shades makes a show of it, his tongue darting between and around his middle and ring fingers, then he looks at her as if to say 'the ball is in your court.'

The one thing Mariah has never done is back down from a challenge. She slowly rolls her hips back and forth and grinding down onto him enough for the friction to feel good but not good enough for him to get off. Mariah pulls down the zipper located at the back of her dress and as it slips off her shoulders, it reveals the lacy bra hidden beneath. Shades has a look on his face that reminds her of a predator focusing on its prey. When he goes to touch her, Mariah seizes his wrists and squeezes with enough pressure to just barely hurt. Although, he wouldn't hate it in the least if she wanted to hurt him in earnest.

"I didn't give you permission," she says to him in that authoritative voice that she saves for when people step out of line with her. It makes his makes his mouth go dry and stokes the already raging fire in his lower belly. She leans in, breasts pressing against his chest, and whispers in his ear. "Are you going to be good or do I have to restrain you?"

He grins. "Maybe." Shades goes to kiss her but she pulls away. He continues to seek her lips out but she doesn't let him near her.

"You're not leading this dance," Mariah says and reaches between her thighs, then lower, down to his expensive belt. She undoes the buckle and his slacks and begins to stroke him over the fabric of his boxers. Shades throws his head back against the headrest and closes his eyes, relishing in the feeling of her touch. However, before he can get too comfortable, Mariah stops and she chuckles when he looks at her with a disappointed look on his face. If he thought she had forgotten about his teasing from before, he's sorely mistaken.

She runs her hands slowly over his chest, places a kiss at the base of his throat, a small bite on his neck. As much as she wants him inside of her, she does all this painstakingly slow just to get him to fall apart. That's what Mariah loves, to see such a powerful man being reduced to a desperate, needy mess. He's panting hard, hands balled into fists, lying uselessly on the seat. Anything to stop himself from touching her, anything to not delay further, better pleasure.

"Please," he finally whispers, swallowing thickly. Mariah smirks and just looks at him in the low light of the car. He's so desperate that Mariah thinks he's close to crying, which makes a pretty picture in her head. Though just for tonight, she thinks that perhaps it's been enough torture and nods. it's as if the floodgates have opened, Shades dives face first between her breasts, kneading one with one hand, and the other is firmly attached to her ass.

He's content to touch her like that for a moment, as if he's just trying to take the edge off. She's loathe to do so, but Mariah peels herself away from Shades and feels around on the floor for her beaded clutch and rummages around in it for a condom. She pulls it out and he looks at her almost in relief. Mariah smirks, "I'm always prepared, baby."

She lifts herself up to her knees to give him more room to reach down to put on the condom. Mariah doesn't make it easy for him, though. She presses his face between her breasts again and it's enough to make him falter.

Shades' hands go back to her thighs and he nods. He's so desperately ready for her and Mariah can't deny him any longer. At this point it would be torture for both of them. She sinks down onto him and his eyes roll back, his mouth goes slack. Every little change in his face, Mariah catches it. He's beautiful when he's lost in pleasure like this.

When she starts moving, he groans and she clamps a hand over his mouth. "Eyes may be blocked, ears aren't." She rides him hard and fast, and Shades tries to keep quiet, though it's not one of his strong suits. "You were right," Mariah says to him. "We need to be fast."

He nods again and he starts thrusting up to meet her as she bounces in his lap. Shades brings his hand between her thighs, his thumb finding her clit because there's no way he'd be the only one coming tonight. And she does, she always does before him. Mariah rests her head on his shoulder, taking a breather while he's still slowly moving inside her. She's so tight around him that he starts thrusting a bit harder now, chasing his own high.

He wraps one arm around her waist and a hand grasping her thigh hard. Shades clutches her tight against himself, it's as if as close as they are, it's not close enough for Shades. His stifled moans come faster and faster, as does his thrusts. Mariah kisses him along his jaw and neck, a soft bite here and there, until he finally comes. Sweat has built up on his forehead and he's in such a state of bliss, he just holds her close, breathing hard. She finally takes her hand off his mouth and his lips are so inviting, Mariah can't help herself. She kisses him deeply, a reward for a job well done, then climbs off him to straighten herself up just in time for the car to roll up to the venue.

"Really?" He says and quickly takes the condom off and tucks himself back into his pants. "You don't play fair."

"You should know that by now," Mariah says as someone on the outside opens the door for her. "I'll tell the driver to drive around the block," she whispers. "You've got a bit of my lipstick on your mouth," she smirks before sliding out of the car and slamming the door closed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave a comment!


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